BARIATRICS

About

I am a medical doctor and Specialist in Endocrinology & Metabolism, caring for patients with diabetes, thyroid, other hormone, and weight management issues. After completing my training as an Endocrinologist in 2005 at the University of Calgary, I have had busy clinical practices in both Calgary, Alberta, and at the Royal University Hospital at the University of Saskatchewan. I spent a year on a research sabbatical at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, intensifying my interest and passion for the study and management of obesity. I'm involved in research in several areas, from lifestyle change, to innovative new ways to treat diabetes, to gastric bypass surgery.
I am passionate, enthusiastic, and driven to help conquer the stigma against obesity; educate health care professionals and the public about obesity, diabetes, and healthy living; and to help us become a healthier society!

>> Sunday, May 24, 2015

Artificial
sweeteners are commonly touted as a healthy alternative to natural sugar.
Sweeteners contain low to no calories (read about the types of sweeteners here), and they do not make
blood sugars spike in diabetics.However, a growing body of research lends a growing amount of concern to
possible negative side to artificial sweetener use.

A fascinating set
of studies was collected and published recently in Nature, looking at how artificial sweeteners affect the bacteria in
our intestines, and how these effects in turn may actually increase the risk of
developing diabetes or pre-diabetes.For
the scientist with a couple of hours and a day with a good attention span may
want to read the article for themselves – it’s heavy but super.Here are the key results of their studies:

Both lean and
obese mice who were fed artificial sweetener (saccharin, sucralose, or
aspartame) were more likely to develop prediabetes compared to mice fed glucose or sucrose. (read more
about different types of sugar here).

They showed that
the development of prediabetes in these mice was caused by a change in the
types of bacteria in the mice’s intestines. These altered bacteria are better at making
calories from food accessible for absorption, meaning that mice (or humans)
more readily absorb these calories, thereby contributing to higher blood sugars
(and probably weight gain as well).

In humans, survey
type studies have shown that people who use artificial sweeteners are more
likely to be people with weight struggles and diabetes, but whether the
artificial sweeteners cause these problems, or whether it is simply that people
who have these problems are more likely to consume artificial sweeteners to
help fix these problems, is difficult
to separate. The authors therefore looked
at a very small group of seven study participants who didn’t normally consume
artificial sweeteners, and they found that when they ate artificial sweeteners
for a week, four of the seven participants developed an increase in their blood
sugars by the end of the week. An
examination of these people’s stools (oh yes they did) showed a marked change
in the bacteria growing in their intestines after a week of artificial
sweeteners. When they transplanted the stool of the people who developed higher
blood sugars into mice (oh yes they did), the mice then went on to develop higher
blood sugars as well.

So, in summary,
these elegant studies suggest
that artificial sweeteners may change the types of bacteria that grow in our
gut, to types of bacteria that cause us to absorb more calories from food into
our bloodstream, with the increase in sugar absorption increasing the risk of
diabetes.

So what is the
best solution? Eating added natural
sugar undoubtedly increases our risk of diabetes, obesity, and metabolic
syndrome, and there is now emerging evidence to suggest that artificial
sweeteners may not be good for our metabolism either.

The best answer
is to avoid adding added sweetener period, be it sugar or artificial
sweeteners.

Thanks to my friend and colleague, Pam, for the heads’ up on this article.

A HEARTFELT WELCOME!

I am excited that you have arrived at my site, and I hope you are too - consider this the first step towards a Healthier New You!! As a medical doctor, Endocrinologist, and obesity specialist, I am absolutely passionate about helping people with weight management. Though there is certainly no magic cure for obesity, there IS a successful treatment plan out there for you - it is all about understanding the elements that contribute to your personal weight struggle, and then finding the treatment plan that suits your needs and your lifestyle. The way to finding your personal solution is to learn as much as you can about obesity: how our toxic environment has shaped us into an overweight society; the diversity of contributors to obesity; and what the treatment options out there are really all about. Knowledge Is Power!!

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DISCLAIMER

Any medical discussion on this page is intended to be of a general nature only. This page is not designed to give specific medical advice. If you have a medical problem you should consult your own physician for advice specific to your own situation. Postings on this blog represent the personal opinions of Dr. Sue Pedersen. They are not representative of, or endorsed by, Alberta Health Services or C-ENDO Diabetes & Endocrinology Clinic. This site is hosted free of charge by Google's Blogger platform and is intended for residents of Canada as well as health professionals.